beta testing

If you've had your fill of what is now practically known as the Multiplayer Online Battle Arena or MOBA genre for PCs, wait till they saturate Android as well. The popular RPG franchise The Witcher seems to be eying that particular market and has started accepting closed beta sign-ups for its own MOBA title called what else but The Witcher Battle Arena (henceforth called TWBA for brevity).

At the height of Project Ara's popularity, it has lost a key member of its team. Dan Makoski, credited for the design not only of Project Ara but also of the successful Moto X, is leaving Project Ara and Google for good. And instead, he will be working for credit firm Capital One.

Our friends from the land of the rising sun will soon be able to enjoy all that SwiftKey goodness in their own native language. SwiftKey has just announced the start of open beta testing for the exclusive SwiftKey Japanese version of its intelligent keyboard for Android.

Joining the growing number of app developers turning to their own users for a bit of assistance, Uber has formally announced the start of its beta testing program for its Android app. Willing test subjects and trailblazers are invited to try out test versions of this "personal chauffeur" app to help make it better for everyone.

IFTTT (If This, Then That) has been available for the iPhone, and recently launched for the iPad as well. And while we have yet to see an Android release, it does appear as that is currently in the works. IFTTT posted about a beta release on Google+ recently.

Software testing on Android devices is common practice these days. Motorola is amongst the names that standout due to the soak tests we often hear about. They recently rolled through some of these getting the Moto X running the latest and greatest. Sometimes the soak tests run over a week, and sometimes they go a bit longer.

Facebook Messenger is opening up for beta testing, and you’re invited! Their popular messaging service is now entering a beta phase, which Facebook has been using successfully with their regular app as well. To join in, you have to jump through some hoops, but it might be worth it if you like to see features ahead of a wider release.

Edging closer to its next big release, XBMC is rolling out the first beta of XBMC codenamed "Gotham". Among the numerous new features and improvements in this version are a couple of Android-specific changes that improve the software's performance and abilities on the mobile platform.

Opera has just announced that it will be accepting another wave of beta testers for its data-saving app for Android. This additional batch of users will hopefully give Opera Max the stress it needs before the service finally goes for a public launch.

Waze, the crowdsourced information service which brings you information about your commute, is looking for beta testers. Though the desired results aren’t exactly known just yet, Waze is set on making their product better. Though a big part of Google Maps, Waze still operates separately as well, so this program is likely to help users of both.